Background: Given that the clinical and radiological examinations of lateral cervical masses are not always sufficient for deciding on appropriate management, the cytological examination of the material obtained by fine-needle aspiration might be an efficient tool in the preoperative investigation of these lesions. Aim: To assess the usefulness of FNAC in the diagnosis of cervical lymph node masses and study the cytological features of common pathological conditions affecting the lymph nodes,in correlation with histopathological examination. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study of enlarged cervical lymph nodes is undertaken &evaluated between the period from 2013 to 2016 .Cervical lymph node biopsieswere received from 90 patients out of a total of 100cases of previous FNACs and were subjected to unbiased histopathological examination, after fixing in 10% formalin. Results: All 90 cases correlated well with the histopathological diagnosis.Two of the AFB positive cases were subsequently diagnosed to be HIV positive. Epitheloid cell granulomas were observed in all cases of tuberculosis with or without caseation and/or AFB. Two cases of granulomatous lymphadenitis did not show caseation,both cytologicallyand histologically, and were labelled negative for AFB,both on smear and culture. They were further followed up, and subsequently diagnosed as Sarcoidosis and toxoplasmosis respectively. Cytological diagnosis for Non –Hodgkins lymphoma was rendered as lymphoproliferative disease,suspicious for malignant lymphoma,which on histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of NON –Hodgkins lymphoma. Conclusion: Fineneedle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is an accurate, reliable, cost effective, minimally invasive, and pain free, first line diagnostic technique to investigate both superficially palpable&deep seated masses.

Keywords: FNAC; Cervical Lymphadenopathy; Metastatic Carcinoma; Infectious Granulomatous Lymphadenitis